Finale"- The N&D Trilogy part B
by EvilTim
Summary: Uhh, well, this is...err, part 2....


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**_Author's Notes:_**_ If you haven't read "Crescendo," please do before reading this one. This is part 2 of a trilogy, as I have stated, and, don't worry, I won't keep you all waiting too long, I promise. _

_For those of you curious, I did get the $20.00 my friend bet me for writing "Crescendo." Also, thanks to all of your nice things you said to me about that story, I really hadn't expected it to go over so well. Uhh..this one's a bit different, I guess, from its predecessor...but not too different. Okay now I' ll shut up and let you read the darn thing._   
  
  
  


## "Finale"

_(Part 2 of "The Niles and Daphne Trilogy)_

  
  


By Tim Shaw _(aka EvilTim)_

Niles reluctantly rose from bed, putting on a robe and heading towards the kitchen for a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. Looking through the spy-hole, he saw it was Roz, and needless to say, he was a bit surprised. Nevertheless, he let her in, hoping she would not notice anything as he tried to act normal. 

"Hello, Roz." 

"Oh, hello, Niles. Sleeping late this morning, are we?" 

"Yes...I was up...late doing...work, yes, work, lots of work, very busy. Is there something I can do for you?" 

"Well, Frasier and I have to go to a dinner tomorrow evening with the other people at the station, and I was wondering if you could look after Alice for me, if it wouldn't be much trouble. My usual babysitter isn't able to do it and I tried Donny, but he has to work late, and you have done this for me before..." 

"Why, Roz, that wouldn't be an inconvenience at all. I'd be delighted." 

Roz noticed that he seemed to have an abnormal cheerfulness about him this morning, very odd indeed considering Daphne's engagement. She noticed the familiar spring in his step and look in his eye and it seemed almost as if... 

And then she saw it, on the floor, out of the corner of her eye, a high-heeled woman's shoe. And near the couch, also on the floor, the other shoe, and nearby, a tie. 

"Niles," she asked with a knowing expression on her face, "it looks like you WERE 'busy' last night." 

He followed her gaze over to the scene on the floor and began to panic. If Roz knew, she would tell Martin, or worse, Frasier, and his brother would probably try to interfere, and his relationship with Daphne might be ended as abruptly as it had begun. 

"Well no WONDER you're in such a good mood this morning. So who is she?" Roz pressed, ever the gossip. 

"Well...Roz..." Niles stammered, knowing he wasn't going to explain his way out of THIS, and searched for a cover story, when he was mercifully interrupted. 

"Oh, hello, Roz," said Daphne, emerging from the bedroom and walking down the stairs, wearing an obviously burrowed robe and slippers. 

Roz was dumbstruck. "NILES?? DAPHNE?? You two...??" she said, incredulous. 

"Yes," said Daphne, "we did," also obviously in a good mood. 

"Well, how did it...happen?" Roz asked them. "I never thought he had it in him," she thought. 

Niles and Daphne sat down on the couch and Roz sat in a chair nearby, facing them, as they began explaining. Daphne started telling Roz about the breakup with Donny. 

"...so, that's how it happened." Daphne said, finishing, and taking Niles' hand. 

"Wow," Roz said, still stunned. 

"Roz, it is imperative Frasier and Martin don't hear about this yet. We don't want to shock them and jeopardize things. We'll tell them ourselves when we're ready," Niles added. 

"OK, you guys, I won't say anything, I promise. Besides, you DO look awful cute together." 

"Oh, thank you Roz," said Daphne, "you're a great friend." 

"Well, you two, I gotta run. Niles, you can come over tomorrow evening at 7:00 to watch Alice. And don't have TOO much fun, you two," she said, winking, and left. 

"So," began Daphne, "How are we going to hide this from Dr. Crane and your father?" 

"Well, Daphne, here's what I've been thinking. We can't be together around them, obviously. It would be too hard to hide, so I guess I'll have to keep avoiding Frasiers' as much as possible." 

"And I'll tell them Donny and I broke it off, and have to pretend I am still sad about it," she said. "But this isn't going to be easy, since we won't get to spend much time together. I want to see you again, soon. We'll find a way." 

"No, it won't be easy, Daphne." 

"Well, Niles,. I'd better get changed and comehome...I'll tell them I spent the night at a girlfriend's house, and I'll have to leave now to avoid suspicion. I'm sorry, though, I'd really like to stay here with you." 

"Me too, Daphne." 

"Well, I just hope we can keep this a secret from a psychiatrist and a former undercover police detective." They both laughed, somewhat uneasily. 

Shortly afterwards, Daphne had showered and changed back into her clothes, and was ready to leave. Niles opened the door to let her out. 

"Good-bye, Daphne." he said, and they kissed, each one not wanting to part company. 

"I'll call you tomorrow, all right?" she said, leaving. 

"That would be fine," he answered, and watched her walk down the hallway, glance back at him, and disappear down the corner, heading for the elevator. 

-------------------- 

Luckily, they managed to avoid Frasier and Martin except for a couple of times , although they had a few close calls when Daphne said "Niles...I mean, Dr. Crane" a few times, but they didn't seem to notice. She told them about the breakup with Donny and they seemed quite understanding and supportive. 

-------------------- 

On Wednesday, Niles returned from lunch when his secretary said "Dr. Crane, a Miss Daphne Moon dropped this by for you about 20 minutes ago," handing him a letter. 

"Thanks," he said, and went into his office, opening the letter. It read: 

_Dear Niles _

_How are you? It has been almost unbearable for me, being unable to spend any time with you lately, and I'm sure it has been hard for you as well. I really must see you again, I can't hardly think about anything else. _

_However, I have good news. Frasier and Martin are going away for the weekend. They leave Friday afternoon, so perhaps you could come over around 7:00? I just can't wait to be with you again.   
Love,   
Daphne_

Niles sat back in his chair, holding the paper and reading it again, hearing her voice in his head and noticed the paper smelled of her perfume. He inhaled deeply of the scent and put the letter in a desk drawer. He reached for his phone and dialed. Daphne answered. 

"Umm...see you Friday at 7!' he said simply, and hung up, wanting to limit their conversation in case Frasier and Martin were in earshot. She told Martin it was just a wrong number. 

-------------------- 

Daphne hurried Martin and Frasier out of the house Friday afternoon, looking forward to Niles' arrival. He showed up at the door precisely at 7:00, nothing if not punctual, dressed casually and carrying a dozen roses in one hand and a small shopping bag in the other. Finally, he thought. He couldn't even send her flowers during the week for fear of Frasier and Martin finding out who sent them. He was even more amused when he remembered Maris would have been allergic to the roses. 

Daphne opened the door and kissed him, thanking him for the flowers and putting them in a vase. She asked him what was in the bag, but he only answered "a surprise." 

"I've cooked us a nice, romantic dinner," she told him. 

"Well, I'm famished," Niles answered, taking in the sight of her. 

They spent most of dinner talking quietly but mostly gazing across the table at each other in a whole new way (well, new for Daphne, at least). 

"Oh, dinner was delightful," Niles complimented, finishing. 

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get a shower and change into something a bit more...comfortable. I promise I won't be too long," she said, smiling. 

"Oh, as if you aren't worth the wait," he answered, and she found herself blushing again. 

"Oh, and you can go ahead and wait in me room if you like," she added. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable." 

After she had gotten in the shower, Niles went to the kitchen, searching for a bottle of champagne, glasses, and a bucket of ice. He brought these items back to her bedroom and set them on the nightstand. Then, he reached into the shopping bag he had brought and extracted a smaller bag and several candles. He began to strategically place the candles in the room and dimmed the lights. He opened the smaller bag, which contained several rose petals, and sprinkled them liberally on and around the bed. Finally, he went over to her stereo and found a radio station playing some soft music. Done, he unbuttoned his shirt partway (the room seemed hot but he thought it might also be due to anticipation) and lay down on the bed, waiting. 

Each minute he lay waiting seemed like an eternity, and he passed the time thinking of his many memories of Daphne, still not quite believing what all had happened. Then, in what seemed like hours later, she emerged from the bathroom, robe drawn up tight. 

"Surprise!" she said, letting the robe fall. 

"Oh my GOD!! Daphne...you look...divine," he said breathless, seeing she was wearing the same red gown from when they went dancing together 2 years ago. 

"I knew you'd like it," she said, "I knew you weren't just 'acting' that night...and I'm not so sure I was either." 

"Oh, Daphne," he said, remembering what he had said that night, "I adore you!" 

She held out a hand, and he rose from the bed and took it, embracing her, and kissed her once again, this time not the least bit nervous. She released him, and slowly laid back down on the bed, gently pulling him with her outstretched hand, and he eagerly followed. 

-------------------- 

They spent the weekend inseparable. Saturday night he took her out to dinner at the top of the space needle, his fear of heights unaffected because he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her long enough to really look at the ground. Then they spent awhile taking a long walk through the city before finally heading home. 

He left Sunday morning before Frasier and Martin arrived. Once again, they were not suspicious when Daphne said she had "not done anything interesting" over the weekend, and she had carefully removed from the apartment any trace of Niles' presence. 

-------------------- 

The next day, Daphne had gone out for lunch at the Cafe Nervosa when she spotted Donny seated alone at a nearby table, reading a newspaper. 

"Hello," she said. 

"Oh, hey Daph," he replied, somewhat surprised. 

She felt a little awkward to be getting a conversation with him, but she didn't want to be rude and not wanting him to have to sit there alone, she grabbed a seat across from him. 

"I was just having coffee with Roz. She...told me about you and Niles. 

"Oh." 

(Sensing her discomfort) "No...it doesn't bother me, not at all...he's a good guy. A bit strange, but from what I hear he's been crazy about you for quite some time, and it's good to see you two happy." 

"Donny, I just want to say that I didn't leave you for Niles. I felt so bad that night and I needed someone to talk to, and he was there for me. I had no idea until he confessed to me and that was when I realized he was the man of me visions. 

"Well, perhaps it was fate, then," he said. "Oh, and, Daphne, don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Roz told me to keep quiet about it." 

"Oh, thank you so much." 

She left, leaving him with his thoughts. Yes, he saw the break-up coming, but he still had feelings for her. And he also gained a new respect for Niles, being in love with her the whole time of their relationship and not trying to steal her from him. "Guess I underestimated the little guy," he muttered to himself. 

-------------------- 

Then, the day after, was when all hell broke loose. It all started at the Cafe Nervosa, where Niles met Daphne on his lunch break. Unbeknownst to either, Cassandra sat watching them. 

-------------------- 

"Frasier, you wont BELIEVE what I saw today at the Cafe Nervosa," Cassandra said. "Your brother and Daphne, together and being VERY affectionate." 

"Oh my GOD..." he said, simply. After his show, he told Roz he needed to talk. 

"Roz?" 

"Yes, Frasier?" 

"It seems that hell has frozen over." 

"Oh, you got a date for the weekend?" 

"Ha, ha, Roz. No, Cassandra said she saw Niles and Daphne at the Nervosa today and they were clearly...more than friends." 

"And why, may I ask, does that bother you?" 

"Well-think, Roz! She just broke up with Donny and he's moved in for the kill when she was highly vulnerable. I just think he is making a big mistake." 

"Oh, come on, Frasier, ever hear of the concept of being HAPPY for Niles? Let me tell you something Frasier, I knew about it but this is precisely why they didn't want you to find out before they were ready to tell you." 

"WHAT?? You KNEW about this and didn't tell me?" 

"It wasn't any of your business." 

"Niles is my BROTHER, Roz." 

"Oh, and I suppose all his relationships need the 'Frasier Crane Seal of Approval?" 

"And how long has this been going on?" 

"2 weeks, on Friday." 

"You mean they've been going behind my back all this time...so the weekend Dad and I were gone they..." 

"Yep, Frasier, they did." 

"2 weeks from tomorrow...Oh my God... you mean it started the SAME NIGHT she broke up with Donny? Good God!" 

"Frasier," she said, annoyed, "they're in love, stay out of it." 

"Well, I am going to have a word with the two of them!" and he stormed out of the studio.   
  


  
TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE 3:   
"ENCORE"

  
  
  


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